" 'Ja think I'm a cowboy?"

The time has come to reveal the cover of my new book, due on sale in June 2007, or five months from now, from First Second Books in New York. Design work is by Charlie Orr , who also did the designs on my Fate of the Artist. Charlie's idea of a theatrical, or showground, facade on the front/back of that cover has been called, by at least one reviewer, the funniest gag in the whole book.


(click to enlarge)

On the back cover I am pretending to be the protagonist of the book, in a photo taken under our house by wee Callum under my direction:



It's the first time I have been photgraphed as a cowboy since, well since this one I suppose:



The title of today's post is of course the very first line uttered by Popeye, on Jan 17 1929. Castor Oyl is walking along the harbour trying to buy a boat to get to Dice Island. He says to Ham Gravy, "You'll find the scum of the earth right here in this port. So we've got to be careful in picking our crew". In panel 2 he calls to someone off-panel, "Hey there, are you a sailor?" and then in panel 3 we see him, the character who will become one of the greatest ever: Popeye.
"''ja think I'm a cowboy?"
"O.K. You're hired."